Saturday, December 02, 2006
commentary: television & parenting
Yes, it may be quite a heavy selection for the Saturday after my sabbatical, but it's on my mind after last night's Trading Spouses.
Growing up relatively "conservative," last night was one of my worst nightmares on national television. Trading Spouses switched two wives, obviously of differing opinions: one, a Conservative Evangelical Christian Sunday School teacher, the other an agnostic Roller Derby-playing tattoo artist.
The show then proceeded to center around the religious aspects of the conflicts for the part that I saw (it mysteriously cut off at 10 for the news). Choice confessional quotes such as "I think it was Satanic or something," and "They need to believe in Jesus," were stressed from the religous woman. Now, I don't have a problem with her religion (for the most part, she stayed true to the Bible), but the way they portrayed it on television.
Shows such as this and WifeSwap (usually a cleaner watch, in my opinion), have taken it upon themselves to comment on the wider social question of how to raise children. These are to be differentiated (slightly) from shows such as SuperNanny and Nanny 911 (apparently Fox and ABC have dominated the parenting market) which offer a more tutorial tone: more "how to," than "how could you." I understand that, in the name of television, parenting is something everyone has endured (the tail end if not the giving end), so its great to get the viewership, etc, etc.
Last night's show, however, barely touched on the parenting. The conservative lady's husband was absolutely uninvolved in their childrens' lives - the first morning, the "new mom" had to bundle the kids up and take them to church while the dad never woke up! He stayed home from everything. Meanwhile the tattoo artist/piercer dad (he owns two parlors - screams businessowner to me) was so loving with his child when the kid threw a tantrum and got so frustrated he almost cried, but never yelled. Super-touching.
I know, I know, television isn't perfect - and I still watch it. "Good" television doesn't usually mean good for those involved (in these reality TV things).
To clarify, let's point out the differences between WifeSwap and Trading Spouses. Trading Spouses is just one week, and the new parent decides how to spend the money that week. WifeSwap is two weeks long - the first week they live by the existing house rules, and the second week the "new mom" imposes new rules, many times remedying things she sees lacking during the first week. More often than not, the kids in WifeSwap get to try new things with their "new" moms, and the two couples sit down and discuss what they saw in each others' houses afterwards. Much more judicial, much less frivolous "lets pitch religion against non-religion." Granted, I've never seen a WifeSwap involving a family as religious as the one last night.
But you know, the participants know how things go before they sign up for it. Who am I to tell them to be careful?
Growing up relatively "conservative," last night was one of my worst nightmares on national television. Trading Spouses switched two wives, obviously of differing opinions: one, a Conservative Evangelical Christian Sunday School teacher, the other an agnostic Roller Derby-playing tattoo artist.
The show then proceeded to center around the religious aspects of the conflicts for the part that I saw (it mysteriously cut off at 10 for the news). Choice confessional quotes such as "I think it was Satanic or something," and "They need to believe in Jesus," were stressed from the religous woman. Now, I don't have a problem with her religion (for the most part, she stayed true to the Bible), but the way they portrayed it on television.
Shows such as this and WifeSwap (usually a cleaner watch, in my opinion), have taken it upon themselves to comment on the wider social question of how to raise children. These are to be differentiated (slightly) from shows such as SuperNanny and Nanny 911 (apparently Fox and ABC have dominated the parenting market) which offer a more tutorial tone: more "how to," than "how could you." I understand that, in the name of television, parenting is something everyone has endured (the tail end if not the giving end), so its great to get the viewership, etc, etc.
Last night's show, however, barely touched on the parenting. The conservative lady's husband was absolutely uninvolved in their childrens' lives - the first morning, the "new mom" had to bundle the kids up and take them to church while the dad never woke up! He stayed home from everything. Meanwhile the tattoo artist/piercer dad (he owns two parlors - screams businessowner to me) was so loving with his child when the kid threw a tantrum and got so frustrated he almost cried, but never yelled. Super-touching.
I know, I know, television isn't perfect - and I still watch it. "Good" television doesn't usually mean good for those involved (in these reality TV things).
To clarify, let's point out the differences between WifeSwap and Trading Spouses. Trading Spouses is just one week, and the new parent decides how to spend the money that week. WifeSwap is two weeks long - the first week they live by the existing house rules, and the second week the "new mom" imposes new rules, many times remedying things she sees lacking during the first week. More often than not, the kids in WifeSwap get to try new things with their "new" moms, and the two couples sit down and discuss what they saw in each others' houses afterwards. Much more judicial, much less frivolous "lets pitch religion against non-religion." Granted, I've never seen a WifeSwap involving a family as religious as the one last night.
But you know, the participants know how things go before they sign up for it. Who am I to tell them to be careful?
Monday, November 27, 2006
Super-Sonic Booms
SSB
No, it isn't really Super-Sonic Boom. It's a Monday morning and my brain is already tapped out (as are 2,033 words towards final number 1, due on Wednesday). It's from last night's rerun of Sex and the City, and it means Secret Single Behavior.
As a soon-to-be-never-single-again gal, I'm starting to see the traces of single life behind me. My last birthday as an unmarried woman, my last semester of school before I have to support more than just myself, my last holiday season as a Miss rather than a Mrs. You'd expect I have a lot of SSBs for someone who was constantly single prior to this relationship. I do, but you won't hear about them here.
Or at least not all of them. Kevin knows my habits. I like to peel off my nail polish, but I'll do that in public. I paint my nails obsessively (because of habit number 1), and cut my split ends too. Somehow I'm convinced that it will help my hair grow out faster if I spend enough time hunched over every strand that is even thinning at the tip. I browse through thousands of wedding dresses, sometimes more than once, although that shouldn't be an issue once I'm not planning a wedding anymore.
I stress over my pores, something Kevin has heard about, but never seen. All the hidden primping, puffing and buffing will come out into the open, although I'd say my morning routine is less extensive (but more OCD) than most. Wake up, pee, wash hands, put in contacts, wash face, acne treatment, day lotion, eye cream, wash hands. Every day. I only wear makeup when I go to work or church, but that's because I rarely go out anywhere else anymore. I finally bought a "real" brush to replace the free mini-brush that came with my curling iron six years ago. It was suppose to be "anti-static," but it is the exact opposite. I brush my hair only when it's still a tad bit damp from air-drying, and with a copious amount of shine spray.
I could go on and on about my weird OCD-tinged SSBs, but I won't. It's almost 10:30 and I have to work. There are probably a million little SSBs I won't even notice until they're exposed, but that will just be a nice little surprise, won't it? I hope Kevin thinks so, too.
No, it isn't really Super-Sonic Boom. It's a Monday morning and my brain is already tapped out (as are 2,033 words towards final number 1, due on Wednesday). It's from last night's rerun of Sex and the City, and it means Secret Single Behavior.
As a soon-to-be-never-single-again gal, I'm starting to see the traces of single life behind me. My last birthday as an unmarried woman, my last semester of school before I have to support more than just myself, my last holiday season as a Miss rather than a Mrs. You'd expect I have a lot of SSBs for someone who was constantly single prior to this relationship. I do, but you won't hear about them here.
Or at least not all of them. Kevin knows my habits. I like to peel off my nail polish, but I'll do that in public. I paint my nails obsessively (because of habit number 1), and cut my split ends too. Somehow I'm convinced that it will help my hair grow out faster if I spend enough time hunched over every strand that is even thinning at the tip. I browse through thousands of wedding dresses, sometimes more than once, although that shouldn't be an issue once I'm not planning a wedding anymore.
I stress over my pores, something Kevin has heard about, but never seen. All the hidden primping, puffing and buffing will come out into the open, although I'd say my morning routine is less extensive (but more OCD) than most. Wake up, pee, wash hands, put in contacts, wash face, acne treatment, day lotion, eye cream, wash hands. Every day. I only wear makeup when I go to work or church, but that's because I rarely go out anywhere else anymore. I finally bought a "real" brush to replace the free mini-brush that came with my curling iron six years ago. It was suppose to be "anti-static," but it is the exact opposite. I brush my hair only when it's still a tad bit damp from air-drying, and with a copious amount of shine spray.
I could go on and on about my weird OCD-tinged SSBs, but I won't. It's almost 10:30 and I have to work. There are probably a million little SSBs I won't even notice until they're exposed, but that will just be a nice little surprise, won't it? I hope Kevin thinks so, too.
